The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the flowers of Retama raetam (Forssk.) Webb cultivated in Tunisia was determined by GC and GC/MS analysis. A total of 50 components representing 98.58% of the oil were identified: nonanal (35.75%), alpha-humulene (29.29%), acetaldehyde (7.84%), linalool (5,62%), myrcene (3.38%), tridecanal (2.21%), beta-caryophyllene (1.79%), alpha-terpinyl acetate (1.46%), terpinolene (1.26%) and methyl anthranilate (1.06%) were found to be the major components. The oil was evaluated for antibacterial and antifungal activities using a microdilution assay against some bacteria and yeasts. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the essential oil varied between 0.625 and 5 mg mL(-1) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were superior to 5 mg mL(-1) of oil for most strains. The antioxidant potential of the essential oil was evaluated using the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging method. The essential oil possesses good antioxidant properties (IC(50) = 0.800 mg mL(-1)). The results may suggest that the flower oil of R. raetam possesses compounds with antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant capacities, and thus the oil can be explored as a natural preservative ingredient in food and/or pharmaceutical preparations.